The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Farouk Yahaya, has charged officers and men of the Nigerian Army to be diligent and professional in discharging their constitutional duties.
Yahaya, who gave the advice in Ibadan, capital of Oyo State, while addressing officers and men of the 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Adekunle Fajuyi Cantonment, Ojoo, Ibadan, said all hands must be on deck towards ensuring the safety of lives and property across the country.
The Chief of Army Staff, who is on a tour of military formations across the country with the intention of motivating officers of the Nigerian Army to be professional and continue to uphold the ethics of the Nigerian Army, paid an operational visit to the 2 Division Headquarters, Adekunle Fajuyi Cantonment, Ojoo, Ibadan.
Yahaya described the officers and men of the Nigerian Army as professionals, who had been and are being trained to be professional and civil in their approach and to do things in tandem with the teachings of the profession.
He encouraged the officers and men of the Division to remain committed to the fight against insurgency, adding that the authorities of the Nigerian Army would continue to support them.
Yahaya noted: “As usual, I am urging them to continue to do things professionally in tandem with our teachings and training. The Nigerian Army is a well trained and professional army that has experience. We have existed for over 185 years. So we have skills and ways of doing our activities and that’s what we’re emphasising to the troops and like you know, we are also making progress in synergy with other services and other security agencies.”
The COAS further promised to improve on the welfare of the officers and men of the Division by constructing more accommodation and improving on the existing ones, for optimum performance of the officers.
He used the opportunity of the visit to donate a Hilux Vehicle to the Regimental Sergent Major (RSM) Unit of the division and also inaugurated the Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru Indoor Badminton Court at the Cantonment.
Furthermore, the COAS paid a courtesy visit on the Chief Security Officer of the state, Governor Seyi Makinde, at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, appreciating the governor for the support he has been giving to the Nigerian Army in the state and encouraged him to do more.
Responding, Governor Makinde first commiserated with the COAS on the death of the immediate past COAS and thanked the 2 Division Nigerian Army for protecting the state despite its size and peculiar challenges, especially at border areas, pleading for more cooperation between the Nigerian Army and the state government.
He said: As a government, we can give you the assurance that we’ll do everything humanly possible and within the powers that we have to provide support and also to cooperate. Yes, it is a challenging period and we know that there are war theatres all over the country, especially in the North-East and North-West zones. But we want to say, please, don’t leave us alone here. Don’t take all the officers and men to the theatre of operation, because we believe just by having an international border, this is also a vulnerable zone.”
After leaving the Governor’s Office, Lt. Gen. Farouk Yahaya also paid homage to the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji. The traditional ruler commended the Army for their resilience and promised to continue to support them.
The Chief of Army staff thereafter left Ibadan to visit other formations under the 2 Division of the Nigerian Army.
Ime N
